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AN  OUTLINE 


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k    THE   CHRISTIAN    REFORMED  CMUKChj 


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I  IRev.  1bcnr\>  IDan  ^er  Mcrp, 


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flMERlCA.  II 


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'^S  HOLLAND.    MICH. 

K(fl  II.  IIOLKF.BOKK,  Piintcr 

Wl  J 898. 


BXCcBIS" 


JOHN     CALVIN. 


NOV  7  \m  ' 


AN  OUTLINE         "^"^^ 


OF 


^be  Distort 


OF 


THE   CMRISTIAN    REFORMED   CHURCH 


OF 


flMERICA. 


BY 


IRcv.  Ibcnv^  Dan  ^ev  TOcrp, 


HOLLAND,   MICH. 

H.  HOLKEBOER,  Printer. 

1898. 


A/  the  urgent  reqjiest  of  hiohly  esteemed  brethren  in  The 
United  Pi  esbyterian  Chiireh  the  folloiving  pages  first  appeared 
in  the  (ohimns  of  "  The  Ihiited  Presbyterian'''  and  "  The  Mid- 
land.' ' 

In  eomplianee  7vith  the  desire  expi'essed  by  leaders  in  The 
Christian  Reformed  Chnirh  and  by  valued  friends  ft  om  other 
denominations  I  readily  send  this  neiv  p7iblieation  upon  a  ivider 
field  of  hoped-for  usefulness. 

The  Writer. 


AN     OUTLINE     Of    THE     HISTORY 

OF 

Zbc  Cbrietian  ^Reforme^  Church 

OF 

Hmerica, 


I. 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church,  as  far  as  its  organization 
in  America  is  concerned,  does  not  date  back  any  farther 
than  A.  D.  1857,  a  year  before  the  consolidation  of  that 
elect  remnant  of  Christ's  body,  since  christened  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church.  As  for  the  origin  and  early  history 
of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  we  have  to  go  beyond 
the  waters,  back  to  Reformation  times  and  to  the  old  coun- 
try, the  Netherlands.  With  holy  pride  and  glorious  proof 
we  are  right  in  giving  her  a  place  of  honor  as  the  historic 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Reformed  churches  in  the  Nether- 
lands, Belgium,  France,  Germany  and  Switzerland,  called 
into  being  by  the  grace  of  God  and  the  everlasting  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord. 

The  Standards— all  of  them  thoroughly  Calvinistic — of 
these  churches,  which  may  justly  be  styled  their  forraulse 
concordioe,  mentioned  in  the  historical  order  are: 


—  4  — 

1.  The  Belgic  Confession,  or  Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
Reformed  churches,  containing  37  articles,  published  in  1562 
in  the  Holland  language,  drawn  up  originally  in  the  French 
language,  in  1559,  by  Guido  de  Bres — or  De  Bray — who 
died  a  martyr  at  Doornik,  Belgium,  1567. 

2.  The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  composed  at  the  request 
of  Frederic  HI,  surnamed  the  Wise,  the  well-known  patron 
of  the  reformers.  Prince  electoral  of  the  Palatinate,  by  two 
illustrious  professors  of  theology  at  the  University  of  Hei 
delberg,  Saxony:  Zacharias  Ursinus  and  Caspar  Olevianus; 
translated  and  published  in  the  Holland  tongue  by  Peter 
Dathenus,  a  zealot  in  the  cause  of  the  Reformed  churches. 
Since  1568  up  to  the  present  day  this  Heidelberg  Catechism 
has  been  the  manual  of  instruction  for  old  and  young,  in 
pulpit  and  Bible  class,  having  been  purposely  divided  in  52 
sections,  according  to  the  Sabbaths  of  the  year,  so  as  to  be 
annually  held  forth  and  explained  to  the  people. 

3.  The  Canons  of  Dordt.  The  famous  Synod  of  Dord- 
recht— or  Dordt — was  convened  to  oppo.se  and  refute  the 
rising  tide  of  Arminianism  in  the  Holland  churches.  It 
was  in  session  from  Nov.  13,  1618,  to  May  29,  1619.  It 
may  well  be  called  a  General  Assembly,,  as  constituted  not 
only  by  representatives  from  the  mother  country,  but  also 
by  delegates  from  those  churches  abroad  which  held  tlie 
refo''med  and  prcsbyterian  principles  in  doctrine  and  form 
of  government.  Great  Britain,  Germany,  Belgium,  France 
and  Switzerland  were  duly  represented  by  per.son  or  by 
letter. 

The  Great  Britain  (Hvines  were  Georgius,  bishop  of  I,an- 
da;  JosephusHall,  D.D.,  dean  of  Wigorn;  John  Davenantius, 
D.D.,  professor  of  theology  in  Cambridge  Univer.sity  and 
regent  of  the  Queen' s  College  a  costi ;  Samuel  Wardus,  D.  D. , 
archdeacon  of  Taunton  and  regent  of   Sidney    College  in 


—  5  — 
Cambridge  University.  We  find  no  mention  made  of  Scotch 
delegates.  As  in  those  early  struggles  for  religious  liberty 
tiie  Scotch  churches  (congregations)  had  mainly  to  contend 
for  tlie  presbyterian  form  of  go\'ernment  against  prelacy 
and  hierarcliy.  I  presume  said  churches  styled  themselves 
generall}'  "presbyterian,"  though  at  a  later  period  the  name 
"reformed"  has  been  accepted  by  some. 

The  churches  on  the  continent  however,  had  to  follow 
other  lines  of  defense,  viz.,  against  heresies  and  dangerous 
deviation  from  the  truth  as  embraced  by  the  fathers  of  the 
Reformation,  and  therefore  they  preferred  to  be  called  "re- 
formed," their  form  of  church  polity  invariably  being  pres- 
byterian. Indeed,  it  is  hard  to  under.stand  how  a  reformed 
church  can  he  other  than  presb3'terian;  while  at  the  same 
time  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  a  Church  holding  the 
presbyterian  form  may  have  hard  times  in  upholding  and 
defending  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  as  may  be  proven  by 
the  hi.story  of  the  Scotch  and  Holland  Churches,  which  we 
are  going  to  show  now. 

When  in  the  memorable  year  1688,  William  III,  Prince 
of  Orange,  son  in-law  to  James  II,  then  king  of  England, 
came  to  the  rescue  of  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  Protes- 
tants of  England  and  Scotland,  the  rights  of  the  Church 
were  restored  and  presbyterianism  re-established  in  these 
parts.  But  not  so  easily  were  truth  and  peace  maintained 
within  its  walls.  Though  the  Calvinistic  Westminster 
Confession  and  Catechisms  were  its  accepted  creed,  all  kinds 
of  sects  and  sectarians  found  their  way  into  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland,  viz..  Pelagians,  Arians,  Socinian.s,  and 
such  like.  Expostulations  on  the  side  of  the  orthodox  party 
against  these  errorists  being  tolerated  within  the  pale  of  the 
Church  were  of  no  avail.  A  protest  against  an  iniquitous 
action  of  the  General  As.sembly   was  followed   by   the  sus- 


—  6  — 

pension  of  such  lieroic  and  stalwart  Christian  men  as  Ebene- 
/,er  Erskine,  Alexander  Moncrieff,  James  Fisher,  and  Wil- 
liam Wilson.  On  Dec.  6,  1733,  these  four  ministers  organ- 
ized the  Associat.^  Presbytery,  .standing  out  until  this  day 
as  the  patriarchs  and  originators  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church.  They  and  their  followers  werecontemptil)ly  nick- 
named seceders,  but  they  were  no  more  .seceders  from  truth 
and  righteousness  than  the  heroes  of  the  Reformation, 
whose  faith  they  held. 

We  cannot  refrain  from — nor  do  we  apologi/.e  for — this 
little  digression  from  the  straight  line  of  narration,  since 
there  are  .so  many  .striking  coincidences  in  the  hi.story  of 
l)oth  the  United  Presbyterian  and  Christian  Reformed 
Churches.  Even  the  sobriquet  of  "seceders"  has  been 
awarded  us.  though  a  century  later,  in  1834,  as  the  latter 
part  of  this  sketch  will  show,  and  has  been  inflicted  upon 
us  until  the  present  day,  yea  by  brethren  whom  we  love  and 
who  feel  quite  at  liberty  to  boast  the  .same  godly  ancestry 
as  we  Chri.stian  Reformed  people  do. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  Synod  of  Dordt  and  the  history 
of  the  Reformed  Church  after  that  event.  The  synod  wa.s 
an  event  of  no  little  con.sequence.  The  old  sound  truths 
were  vindicated  and  the  orthodox  party  came  out  victorious. 
A  goodly  number  of  Arminian  preachers  were  compelled  to 
give  up  their  teachings  or  their  country.  Some  two  hun- 
dred left  their  charges  and  their  homes.  But  they  were  not 
long  in  exile;  all  too  soon  they  were  allowed  to  return  on 
account  of  the  change  of  government  authorities,  those 
coming  into  power  favoring  their  religious  views  and  their 
restoration.  Henceforth  the  visible  body  of  Christ  in  Hol- 
land was  infested  and  infected  bij  a  legion  of  errors. 

The  main  rea.son  for  this  deplorable  state  of  affairs  was 
the  Erastian  feature  of  the  constitution   of  the  Church,  as 


/ 
instanced  by  some  of  the    "Rules  of  Churc'i  Government," 
established  in  the  n^ional  Synod  of  Dordt,  A.    D.    1618-19. 
Article  4  of  these  Rules  has  this  to  say: 

"A  lawful  call  to  persons  heretofore  not  engaged  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Word,  either  in  a  city  or  in  a  country,  con- 
sists: (i)  In  the  election  made  by  the  consistory  (session ) 
and  deacons,  after  previous  fasting  and  prayer,  and  not  n'ith- 
out  proper  correspondence  tvith  the  Christian  magistracy  of 
the  respective  places,  and  advising  with  the  Classis,  where 
it  has  been  customary.  (2)  An  examination  into  the  doc- 
trines and  morals  of  the  person  so  elected,  which  shall  be 
performed  by  the  Classis,  in  the  presence  of  the  deputies  of 
Synod,  or  some  of  them.  (3)  In  the  approbation  and  ap 
proval  of  the  magistrate,  and  after  that  (!)  or  the  members 
in  full  communion  with  the  church  (congregation)  to  which 
he  is  called.  For  the  obtaining  of  which,  the  name  of  such 
minister  shall  be  published  in  the  church  three  Sabbaths 
successively,  that  opportunity  may  be  given  for  stating  law- 
ful objections  to  his  ordination,  if  any  there  be.  (4)  In 
public  ordination  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation  which 
has  chosen  and  called  him,  according  to  the  form  adopted 
for  that  purpose,  accompanied  by  suitable  engagements,  ex- 
hortations, praj'ers  and  impositions  of  hands  by  the  minis- 
ter, who  preaches  and  presides  at  the  ordination,  and  .such 
other  ministers  as  may  be  present,  providing,  however,  that 
imposition  of  hands  may  be  performed  in  the  Classical  As- 
sembly (presbytery),  in  the  ca.se  of  persons  sent  as  mis- 
.sionaries,  or  to  churches  under  persecution." 

In  regard  to  persons  already  engaged  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Word,  called  to  another  field  and  having  accepted  such 
call,  Art.  5  runs  in  the  .same  strain;  approval  of  the  mag- 
istrate is  required. 

Art.  26  charges  the  deacons  to  cau.se  the  city  almoners  to 


keep  up  a  proper  correspondence  with  the  former,  for  the 
more  careful  distribution  of  alms  to  the  most  needy. 

Art.  28  enjoins  ministers,  elders  and  deacons  to  love,  obey 
and  reverence,  and  to  teach  the  people  to  love,  obey  and 
reverence  the  Christian  magistracy,  zvhich  is  every  zvay  ex- 
pected to  be  the  protector  and promotor  of  the  Chzirch  and  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel. 

Art.  37.  In  all  churches  (congregations)  there  shall  be 
a  consistory  (session),  composed  of  ministers  and  elders, 
who  shall  meet  together  at  least  once  every  week,  in  which 
the  minister  of  the  Word  (or  ministers,  if  more  than  one) 
shall  preside  in  turn  and  moderate  the  business.  The  mag- 
istracy of  the  respective  places  shall  have  the  privilege  to  dele- 
gate one  or  two  of  their  7uimber,  these  being  members  of  the 
church,  to  the  consistory  (session),  there  to  attend  and  to 
deliberate  with  them. 

Art.  50.  The  General  Synod  shall  be  held  ordinarily 
every  three  years,  unless  a  pressing  necessity  shall  require 
a  shorter  time;  to  this  sjaiod  two  ministers  and  two  elders 
shall  be  delegated  from  every  particular  synod.  The  con- 
gregation, appointed  to  convoke  the  General  Assembly,  shall 
be  in  duty  bonnd  to  apprise  the  supreme  magistracy  of  its  in- 
tention, and  this  body  shall  be  free  to  send  a  few  of  their 
number  to  the  Classis  (presbytery),  so  that  the  latter,  the 
Classis,  with  the  knowledge,  the  advice  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  former,  the  magistracy,  may  settle  the  question. 

Art.  64.  Evening  .services  shall  not  be  abrogated  without 
the  advice  of  the  magistracy,  adhering  to  the  Reformed  re- 
ligion. 

Art.  66.  Feast  days.  The  churches  shall  keep,  besides 
the  Sal)bath,  Christmas  day,  Ea.ster,  and  Pentecost,  with 
the  following  day  (!)  . .  .aiid  the  ministers  of  the  Word  shall 


JOHN    BO  GERMAN,  President  Synod  of  DerdL 


—  9  — 
induce  the  mcigistracy  to  use  their  injl,uence  in   securing  uni- 
formity in  observing  these  days. 

We  purposely  entered  into  these  somewhat  lengthy  de- 
tails,to  show  how  the  Cliurch,  which  in  its  Synod  of  Dordt 
fonght  so  gallantly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints, 
was  hoodwinked  by  the  chimera  of  the  State  being  Chris- 
tian; to  show  how  the  Church  was  soon  afterwards  fettered 
and  held  in  bondage  by  this  mesalliance  with  a  so-called 
Christian  magistracy;  to  show  how  the  Church,  though 
unintentionally  and  unconsciously,  fostered  the  germ  of  dis- 
sension and  dissolution  in  its  own  bosom.  By  the  regula- 
tions, mentioned  above,  the  Church  was  bound  hand  and 
foot,  as  may  be  easily  seen. 

Let  me  state  l)y  the  way  that  since  1834 — the  year  of  ju- 
bilee for  so  many  Godfearing  people  in  the  Netherlands, 
being  the  year  when  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  was 
constituted — this  evil  has  been  done  away  with.  Religious 
freedom,  under  the  sole  head  of  the  Church,  is  the  precious 
legacy  left  us  by  our  fathers  through  the  kind  providence 
of  our  covenant  God. 

Let  it  be  well  understood,  however,  that  the  famous 
Synod  of  Dordi  did  not  stand  godfather  to  the  Dagon  of 
the  eastern  hemisphere,  commonly  called  the  State  Church 
or  Established  Church.  The  Reformed  Church  in  the 
Netherlands  had  been  such  a  one  since  1583.  In  the  resolu- 
tions and  regulations  of  Dordt' s  Synod,  we  only  see  the 
great  apo.stle's  admonition  to  Titus  exemplified:  "Put 
them  in  mind  to  be  subject  to  principalities  and  powers,  to 
obey  magistrates,  to  be  ready  to  every  good  work."  This 
however  was  applied  in  a  way  which  any  Church  .sooner  or 
later  has  to  repent  of  and  to  atone  for.  Not  in  vain  has  the 
Lord  God  spoken  from  on  high:  "I  have  anointed  my  King 
upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion!"  2 


—   lO  — 

The  material  benefits  of  the  State  Church  cannot  out- 
weigh the  glorious  libert}"  of  the  children  of  God's  Church, 
neither  counterbalance  the  i-piritual  richness  of  the  glory  of 
his  inheritance  in  the  .'-aints.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that, 
like  Moses,  who  esteemed  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  in  'Egypt,  the  Christian  Reformed 
fathers  of  1834  willingly  surrendered  the  advantages  of  the 
Established  Church,  the  love  of  Christ   constraining  them. 

After  1583  the  Reformed  Church  of  the  Netherlands  was 
the  Established  Church.  The  Synod  of  Dordt  did  not  bring 
an}'  change  in  this  state  of  affairs.  The  Hervormde  Kerk 
(Established  Church)  of  the  present  day  is  more  than  ever 
handcuffed  b}'  the  5-eomanr3'  of  the  state.  After  1583  the 
ministers  of  the  Word  were  State  officers,  and  all  State-of- 
ficers, from  the  secretary  of  state  down,  had  to  be  members 
of  the  State  Church.  This  condition  of  things  no  longer 
holds,  since  the  so-called  Christian  state  has  become — as  a 
distinguished  Christian  statesman  once  phrased  it — etat 
atlie,  an  atheist  state,  or  a  state  without  God.  These  of- 
ficers had  their  salaries  paid  them  by  the  state.  Expenses 
for  church  gatherings,  sj-nods,  etc.,  were  defrayed  by  the 
state.  This  connection  of  State  and  Church  proved  fatal  to 
the  latter.  Erastianism  and  Mammonism  combined  almost 
choked  the  old  truths  to  death,  and  made  the  Church  a  veri- 
table babel  of  confusion. 

For  about  two  centuries,  from  161 8  until  1816,  no  synod 
was  convened,  the  state  not  approving  of  it.  In  the  period 
from  1618  until  1796,  the  reformed  truths  were  maintained 
and  preached  by  many  faithful  ministers,  and  taught  in  the 
universities;  but,  religious  libert}'  existing,  the  Roman 
Catholics,  Lutherans  and  Baptists,  with  their  respective 
votaries  tenaciously  clung  to  their  own  standards.  In  the 
mean  time  a  divensitj^  of  sectarians,  not  adhering  to   any  of 


these  above  mentioned  bodies,  and  anxious  to  secure  a  state 
office  and  state  salaries,  swarmed  into  the  Established 
Church.  Thus  heretics  of  all  descriptions  found  a  refuge  in 
the  State  Church,  and  there  they  found  themselves  well 
nigh  as  safe  as  the  unclean  beasts  in  Noah's  ark,  as  long  as 
they  remained  within  certain  limits  of  decency,  morally  and 
religiously. 


In  the  main  the  common  people,  the  people  of  small 
means,  adhered  to  the  sound  doctrine,  and  in  case  of 
their  ministers  not  being  men  after  their  own  heart  and  er- 
ring concerning  the  truth,  they  worshiped  God  in  their  own 
houses  or  gathered  in  conventicles,  teaching  and  admonish- 
ing one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 
singing  with  grace  in  their  hearts  to  the  lyord.  The  theol- 
ogical works  of  Hellenbroek  and  Brakel,  Corarie  and  the 
Erskines  were,  and  are  to  the  present  day,  the  favorite 
authors  with  these  goal}-  people. 
'  As  we  stated  before,  the  Established  Church  remained 
until  1796,  when  the  French  Revolution,  by  .the  will  of 
God,  changed  the  face  of  the  earth.  Little  Holland,  once 
great  in  war,  either  on  land  or  sea,  as  no  other  nation  on 
the  face  of  the  globe;  once  famous  for  its  love  to  God  and 
his  Churcli,  Init  in  later  years  degenerated  from  the  faith, 
the  heroism  and  the  patriotism  of  its  ancestors,  fell  an  easy 
prey  to  the  great  Usurper.  The  pious  Prince  William  V 
of  Orange,  was  exiled  and  fled  to  England.  Louis  Philippe, 
a  brother  to  Napoleon  Buonaparte,  was  made  king  of  Hol- 
land, and  by  order  of  the  latter  a  proclamation  was  issued 
to  the  effect:  "that  the  Church  be  separated  from  the  State 
and  that  no  social  advantage  or  disadvantage  is  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  profession  of  any  religion  whatever." 


No  General  Assembly  however  was  convened  to  regulate 
and  further  the  interests  of  the  Church.  Now  was  the 
Church's  opportunity  to  avail  itself  of  the  emancipation 
from  the  State;  but  it  did  not  heed  the  time  of  its  visitation. 
It  could  hardly  be  otherwise,  for,  while  the  bridegroom  tar- 
ried, all  the  virgins  slumbered  and  slept. 

The  years  roll  by.  and  we  come  to  1813.  Wi'h  the  assist- 
ance of  the  powers  Holland  regained  its  independence. 
Napoleon  met  his  Waterloo  in  1815.  Prince  William  of 
Orange,  a  son  of  the  exiled  and  since  deceased  monarch. 
at  the  urgent  petition  of  the  Holland  people,  who  are  always 
ill  at  ea.se  without  a  prince  or  princess  from  the  illustrious 
house  of  Orange  Nassau,  returned  to  his  country  and  as- 
cended the  throne  as  William  I,  March  30,  1814. 

It  took  this  king  and  his  advi.sers  a  long  time  to  .settle  the 
disorganized  political  .state  of  affairs,  cau.sed  by  the  revolu- 
tion; nay,  he  and  his  son.  King  William  II,  left  this  earth- 
ly scene  ere  a  better  day  of  peace  and  order  dawned  on  the 
newl}'  made  kingdom  and  the  Church  of  God. 

Amongst  other  things,  which  King  W^illiam  I  arbitrarily 
^settled,  as  was  his  wont  and  his  disgrace,  was  the  govern- 
ment of  the  E.stablished  Church.  The  king  himself  con- 
voked and  constituted  a  General  Synod.  No  voting  or 
delegating  by  the  clas.ses  (presbyteries)  was  deemed  neces- 
sary. A  single  classis  made  objection,  but  was  soon 
silenced.  This  kingly  act  rendered  the  Establi.shed  Church 
not  an  improved  but  a  badly  impaired  edition  of  that  of  1583 
and  161 3.  The  year  161 8,  when  the  reformed  truths  were 
so  gloriously  vindicated,  and  the  year  1816,  when  the 
government  of  the  Church  was  usurped  by  the  king,  with 
all  the  miseries  it  entailed,  are  indelibly  imprinted  on  the 
minds  of  all  Christian  Reformed  people. 

This  synod,  it  is  true,  brought  about  a  sort  of  uniformity 


—  M  — 

in  the  government  of  the  Church,  but  this  change  was  not 
for  better,  but  for  worse.  The  standards  of  the  Church 
were  apparentl}^  left  intact;  they  were  not  altered  or  any- 
way revised  or  improved;  but  were,  all  of  them,  practically 
trodden  under  foot  by  a  little,  seemingly  insignificant,  alter- 
ation, made  in  the  "'formula  of  assent  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  Church,"  which  mini-ters  of  the  Word,  before  being 
licensed  or  installed,  had  to  subscribe  to.  This  could  easi- 
ly be  done  by  a  mi.sconstruction  and  misinterpretation  of  the 
ambiguous  Holland  wording  of  the  text  of  the  formula, 
which  it  is  hardly  possible  for  the  writer  literally  to  render 
into  the  English  language.     Said  formula  runs  thus: 

'IVe,  the  zindcnvritteii,  testify  in  good  faith  and  heartily 
believe  that  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  and  the  Confession  oj 
Faith  of  the  Netherland  churches,  as  also  the  Canons  of  the 
National  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  held  in  the  years  1618  and  i6ip, 
arc  conformable  to  the  Word  of  God,''  etc. 

In  the  Holland  language  this  last  line  could  be  made  to 
read,  "inasmuch"  as  they  are  conformable  to  the  Word  of 
God.  Formerly  ministers  of  the  Word  promi.sed  adherence 
to  the  standards  ''quia"  i.  e.,  because  or  as  they  are  con- 
formable, etc. ;  now  they  testified  heartily  to  believe 
"quatenus,"  i.  e.,  inasmuch  as  they  are  conformable  to  the 
Word  of  God.  This  ambiguity  in  the  text  of  the  Formula 
of  As.sent  allowed  ministers  to  preach  their  private  opinions 
of  the  truth,  instead  of  the  truth  as  expres.sed  in  the  stand- 
ards of  the  church;  and  ere  long  the  sheep  of  Christ's  flock 
were  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with  every  wind 
of  doctrine  by  the  .sleight  of  men  and  cunning   craftiness. 

Before  18 16  no  preacher  had  the  right  to  teach  and  to 
preach  contrary  to  the  standards  of  the  Church;  after  that 
date  that  right  was  silently  granted  him,  his  as.sent  to  the 
standards  having  been  only  a  conditional  one.     Hence  no 


—  14  — 

minister  could  be  suspended  or  deposed  from  office  on  ac- 
count of  heretical  teachinj^s. 

And  this  is  the  ,, status  quo'  in  the  Estabh"s]ied  Church 
of  the  Netherlands  until  this  day.  The  latest  regulation  is- 
sued by  that  great  Bab3'lon,  which  King  William  I  built, 
is  to  this  effect,  that  the  holy  seal  op  baptism  is  not  obliga- 
tory on  those  wishing  to  become  members  of  that  Royal  In- 
stitute! 


Ever  and  anon  there  was  a  crying  out  against  these 
iniquities;  for  instance.  In'  that  greatest  poet  of  his  age, 
Williarii  Bilderdijk,  lyL.  D.;  by  his  disciple,  the  converted 
Jew,  commentator  and  poet,  Isaac  Da  Costa,  and  by  Rev. 
Schotsman  of  Leiden;  but  these  were  as  voices  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  because  the  people  for  long  3'ears  had  become 
unaccustomed  to  the  great  truths  of  the  total  depravity  of 
man  and  the  sovereign  grace  of  God,  and  finally  became 
averse  to  them.  Only  a  few  God-fearing  ministers  adhered 
to  the  good  old  standards,  but  they  contented  themselves 
with  simply  preaching  them.  The  following  may  account 
for  such  behavior: 

In  the  year  1827  Rev.  D.  Molenaar,  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel at  the  Hague,  the  king's  residence,  published  a  paper, 
entitled:  "Address  to  all  my  fellow  believers,"  which  was 
an  exposition  of  the  calamitous  condition  and  the  imminent 
peril  of  the  Church.  Thousands  of  copies  were  spread 
broadcast  over  the  land  and  eagerly  read.  Thus  the  people's 
eyes  were  opened  and  interest  in  religious  matters 
awakened.  No  change  for  the  better  resulted  however, 
neither  indeed  could  there  be.  The  king  reigned  supreme 
and  silenced  Molenaar,  who  was  soon  afterwards  made  by 
his  Majesty  a  knight  of  Orange-Na.ssau,  for  what  we  would 
call    "little  faith."      Instead  of  proving  himself  a  knight  of 


—  ^5  — 
the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  was  made  a  kniglit  of  Orange- 
Nassau,  a  distinctiou  awarded  tliose  whom  the  king  would 
signally  h.onor.  Tluis  Rev.  Molenaar— though  a  preacher 
and  writer  of  scnie  merit  in  the  old  orthodox  line — was  put 
to  sliame  by  those  godly  parents  of  Moses  in  Egyptian 
l)ondage,  of  whom  it  is  written:  "And  they  were  not  afraid 
of  the  king's  commandment." 

On  this  wise  the  once  brightly  shining  Reformed  Church 
of  the  Netherlands  was  gradualh'  converted — as  one  of 
them,  even  a  prophet  of  their  own  has  tersely  put  it — into 
a  synagogue  of  Satan;  and  the  spiritual  interests  of  the 
godly-minded  among  the  people  were  sadh*  ignored.  Many 
of  them  refrained  from  further  attendance  in  the  houses  of 
public  worship,  and  read  sermons  and  religious  treatises  of 
the  old  Dutch,  English  and  Scotch  divines  in  their  own 
houses,  or  gathered  in  "societies;"  while  yet  others  added 
to  this  by  traveling  far  and  wide  to  enjo}'  the  preaching  of 
an  orthodox  minister.  For  God  in  his  great  mercy  had  left 
Him  a  few  faithful  .servants  in  the  Netherlands,  all  the 
knees  which  had  not  bowed  unto  Baal,  .stalwart  men  and 
true,  who  realized  the  need  of  the  times,  studying  to  show 
themselves  approved  unto  God,  workmen  that  need  not  to 
be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth,  shunning 
profane  and  vain  babblings,  the  enmity  and  the  opposition 
of  their  colleagues  notwithstanding.  The  latter,  so-called 
liberals,  who  belied  the  standards  of  the  Church,  who 
shamelessly  rejected  the  cardinal  points  of  the  Chri.stian  re- 
ligion, were  the  heroes  of  the  daj-,  whilst  the  statmch  re- 
formed preachers  were  hardly  tolerated. 


But  the  time  was  at  hand  that  God  should  rai.se  a  reformer, 
a  young  gospel  preacher,  whose  call  the  people  would  heed; 
a  man  who,  to  the  question  of  da^-s  long  ago:    ,,\Vhat   are 


—  i6  — 

these  wounds  in  thine  hands?"  with  a  bleeding  heart  gave 
answer:  ,. Those  with  wliich  I  was  wounded  in  the  house  of 
my  friends."  It  was  the  Rev.  Hendrick  De  Cock.  Wh.at 
Ebenezer  Erskine  in  his  day,  1733,  was  to  the  Godly  Scotcl':, 
Hendrick  De  Cock  was  to  the  Godly  Dutch  in  1S34. 

Hendrick  De  Cock,  minister  of  the  Word  at  Ulrum,  ])ro- 
vince  of  Groningen,  Netherlands,  was  the  first  to  be  perse- 
cuted, suspended,  fined  and  put  in  prison  for  righteousness' 
sake.  After  his  conversion  in  1832,  he  commenced  preach- 
ing the  sound  doctrine,  vigorously  protesting  in  press  and 
pulpit  against  the  prevailing  corruptions  in  the  church.  As 
Erskine  and  his  followers,  so  De  Cock  and  his  fellow-be 
lievers  were  soon  called  .seceders  or  separatists,  being  made 
as  the  filth  of  the  world  and  the  off-scouring  of  all  things; 
but  in  all  their  tribulations  enjoying  the  consolation  of  the 
fulfillment  of  the  Eord's  prophec}-  and  promise:  "Blessed 
are  ye,  when  men  shall  hate  you  and  when  they  shall  sep- 
arate you  from  their  company,  and  shall  reproacli  you  and 
cast  out  your  name  as  evil,  for  the  Son  of  Man's  sake.  Re- 
joice ye  in  that  day  and  leap  for  joy;  for,  behold,  your  re- 
ward is  great  in  heaven,  for  in  like  manner  did  their  fatliers 
unto  the  prophets." 

But  let  me  state  in  brief  the  crime  (?)  for  which  De  Cock 
was  deposed  from  his  ministerial  office: 

1.  He  allowed  the  young  people  from  a  neighboring 
congregation,  where  a  liberal  preacher  was  ministering,  to 
attend  his  catechetical  cla.ss. 

.  2.  He  baptized  children,  from  other  congregations,  of 
parents  who  felt  aggrieved  at  their  children  receiving  the 
holy  seal  of  baptism  at  the  hands  of  liberal  ministers. 

3.  He  issued  a  pamphlet  entitled:  "Two  wolves  in  the 
sheepfold  of  Christ  "  and  addressed  to  two  ministers  in  tlx- 


GIJSBERTUS     VOETIUS, 


—  17  — 

Church,  wiio  piil)licly  opposed  and   denitd   tlie  distinctive 
principles  of  the  Reformed   Church. 

4.  He  wrote  a  preface  to  a  little  work,  drawn  up  by 
anotlier,  and  directed  against  the  introduction  into  public 
worship  of  the  so-called  evangelical  hymns,  which  the  min- 
isters were  compelled  to  make  use  of. 

By  these  actions  not  an}'  of  the  rules  or  regulations  of  the 
Church  were  trespassed  upon;  nevertheless,  they  were  con- 
sidered so  many  grounds  for  deposing  him  from  the  ministry 
of  the  Word.  I)e  Cock  appealed  in  person  to  the  king,  but 
was  dismissed  with  a  stern  rebuke.  The  king  had  created 
that  monstrosit}',  the  E.stablished  Church-Institute,  he 
wanted  it  to  go  unmolested,  cost  what  may. 

De  Cock  did  his  utmost  to  be  reinstalled,  so  did  his  con- 
sistory (session)  and  his  congregation,  but  without  avail. 
On  the  contrary  opposition,  insult,  outrage  and  abuse  fell 
to  their  lot.  On  October  14.  1S34,  De  Cock,  with  his  con- 
sistor}'  and  the  majority  of  his  congregation,  sent  their  act 
of  secession — a  genuine  auto-da-fe,  act  of  faith — to  the 
church  authorities  and  to  the  king.  Next  Sabbath,  when 
De  Cock  went  to  the  usual  place  of  worship,  he  was  pre- 
\-ented  from  entering  the  pulpit  by  a  couple  of  constables, 
but  taking  his  stand  in  one  of  the  pews,  he  preached  with 
his  usual  enthusiasm  from  Ephesians  2:8.  9.  In  the  after- 
noon the  church  was  closed  by  the  government  officials,  and 
then  De  Cock  preached  in  the  barn  of  the  parsonage,  ex- 
pounding the  first  and  second  questions  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism: 

Question  r. — What  is  thy  only  comfort  in  life  and  death? 

Answer. — That  I  with  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and 
<leath,  am  not  my  own,  but  belong  unto  my  faithful  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  who,  with  his  precious  blood,  hath  fully  sat- 
isfied for  all  my  sins  and  delivered  me  from  all  the  power  of 


—  i8  — 

the  devil;  and  so  preserves  me  tliat  without  the  will  of  my 
heavenly  Father  not  a  hair  can  fall  from  my  head;  yea, 
that  all  things  must  be  subser\-ient  to  my  salvation;  and 
therefore  by  his  Holy  Spirit  He  also  assures  me  of  eternal 
life  and  makes  me  sincerely  willing  and  ready  henceforth  to 
live  unto  Him. 

Question  2.  —  How  many  things  are  necessary  for  thee  to 
know,  that  thou,  enjoying  this  comfort,  mayest  live  and  die 
happily? 

Answer. — Three;  the  first,  how  great  niN'  sins  and  miser- 
ies are;  the  second,  how  I  may  be  delivered  from  all  my 
sins;  the  third,  how  I  shall  express  my  gratitude  to  God 
for  such  deliverance. 

An  appropriate  and  inspiring  topic  indeed! 

On  Oct.  26,  1834,  no  less  than  150  soldiers  were  present 
to  prevent  De  Cock  from  preaching  in  his  church,  and  after 
that  date  almost  ever}^  religious  meeting  of  these  and 
kindred  minds  was  rendered  impossible  b}'  the  higher 
authorities  and  the  irksome  officiousness  of  the  king's  ser- 
vants. The  31st  of  October  De  Cock  was  sentenced  to  pay 
a  fine  of  120  guilders,  amounting  to  about  $50,  and  three 
mouths  imprisonment  for  his  having  preached  in  a  pew! 
De  Cock  appealed  to  a  higher  court,  init  on  November  28 
the  first  decision  was  comfirmed  and  De  Cock  at  once  im- 
prisoned. 

The  second  minister,  who  seceded,  was  the  Rev.  H.  P. 
Scholte,  of  Genderen,  province  of  Noord  Brabant,  Nether- 
lands. On  Oct.  10  he  had  preached  in  De  Cock's  church 
and  administered  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  Oct.  12,  on  a 
Sabbath,  Scholte,  who  was  forbidden  to  preach  in  the 
church,  addressed  the  people  in  the  open  air.  On  account  of 
this  offen.se  he  was,  on  the  29th  of  October,  without  any  in- 
vestigation on  the  part  of  the  government  or   the  Church, 


—  19  — 

first  temporarily  suspended  from  office  with  right  of  salary; 
eight  days  later.  Nov.  7,  he  was  suspended  with  loss  of 
saiar}-;  and  three  days  after  this,  Nov.  10,  he  was  removed 
from  the  niinistr\-  and  his  consistory  suspended. 

vShortly  afterwards  a  bill  to  the  amount  of  $120  was  pre- 
sented him  by  the  particular  synod  for  its  tender  care  in 
l)ehalf  of  his  person,  accompanied  by  a  detachment  of  cuir- 
assiers to  enforce  the  suit  and  to  establish  order,  but  in  fact 
to  molest  the  peaceful  villagers.  Nov.  i,  1834,  Scholte  and 
his  congregation  tendered  their  "Declaration  of  Secession" 
to  the  church  and  its  king. 

Appealing  to  courts  of  justice  was  of  no  avail  in  those 
days.  With  a  single  exception  they  were  all  prejudiced, 
the  judges  bting  lawless  menials  of  the  king  and  his  minis- 
ter of  religious  affairs.  But,  as  in  the  days  of  old,  the  more 
God's  people  were  afflicted,  the  more  they  multiplied  and 
grew.  The  times  of  Philip  I,  king  of  Spain,  once  cotmt  of 
Holland,  and  his  butcher  Alba,  seemed  returned;  onl}'  the 
rack,  the  thumbscrew  and  the  fagot  were  lacking.  All 
this  could  not  hinder  a  goodlj-  number  of  ministers  and  con- 
gregations joining  the  secession,  and,  what  deserves  notice, 
without  an}'  deliberation  or  negotiation  with  either  De  Cock 
or  Scholte.  This  was  tlie  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvelous  in 
our  evp.s. 


The  Church  authorities  pursued  their  course  of  deposing 
ministers,  simply  because  they  preached  the  reformed  doc- 
trines and  protested  against  prevailing  heresies.  The  most 
noted  among  the  first  preachers,  who  were  deposed,  were  the 
Revs.  A.  Brummelkampj  Oct.  7,  1835,  G.  F.  Gezelle  Meer- 
burg,  Nov.  24,  1835,  and  S.  Van  Velzen,  Dec.  g,  1835. 

An  article  of  the  Code  Napoleon  on  unlawful  assemblies 
was  applied  to  the  religious  meetings  held  by  those  single- 


hearted,  God-fearing  people,  who  al\va5-s  wert,  and  still 
are,  staunch  friends  and  supporters  of  the  illustrious  house 
of  Orange-Nassau.  Unlawful  assembly,  according  to 
Bouvier,  is  termed  in  law  the  meeting  of  three  or  more'per- 
sons  mutuall)'  to  assist  each  other  in  the  execution  of  some 
enterprise  of  a  private  nature,  with  force  and  violence.  Un- 
der unlawful  assemblies  were  included,  in  the  time  of  the 
Secession,  all  kinds  of  religious  meetings  held  outside  of 
public  places  of  worship.  An  impaired  edition  of  the  Code 
Napoleon  regarding  assemblies,  forsooth!  So  zealous  were 
the  servants  of  the  king  and  the  Established  Church  that 
the}'  ruthlessly  molested  and  by  all  manner  of  means 
dispersed  "societies"  of  even  less  than  twenty  persons,  the 
graciously  allowed  number.  This  happened  in  the  nine- 
teenth centitry,  with  the  approval  of  a  Prince  of  Orange,  by 
order  of  a  so-called  Church,  illu.strating  the  forbearance  of 
liberalism! 

The  patient  reader  may  think  us  rather  harsh  in  denounc- 
ing, in  the  .style  which  is  our  own,  all  the.se  acts  of  exaction 
and  intolerance.  For  that  rea.son,  and  that  one  may  fairly 
judge,  we  quote  from  Mr.  J.  Van  Lennep,  a  noted  barrister, 
romancer  and  historian,  and  himself  a  member  of  the 
Established  Church.  In  his  Hi.story  of  the  Netherlands, 
Vol.  IV,  page  340,  he  makes  the  following  remarks: 

"Many  remonstrances  were  presented  in  regard  to  the 
falling  away  from  the  .standards  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
by  tho.se  whose  vocation  it  was  to  preach  its  doctrines. 
Petitions  were  filed  in  the  General  Assembly  requesting  tliis 
body  to  maintain  the  truth  in  all  its  purity.  The  A.s.sembly 
pronounced  itself  incompetent  to  take  the  necessary  steps 
leading  to  such  an  end.  The  result  was  that  many,  who 
did  not  hear  the  truth  proclaimed  according  to  their  eoncep 
tion,  and  on  that  account  had  already  commenced   to   hold 


religions  meetings  or  'societies'  for  their  spiritual  benefit, 
Seceded  from  the  Established  Church.  Others,  however, 
though  sympathizing  with  the  former  in  adherence  to  the 
fundamental  truths,  preferred  to  abide  with  the  Church, 
and  to  continue  the  holy  warfare  within  its  walls.  In  this 
emergency  what  did  the  government,  which  had  constantly 
preached  forbearance?  A  retrospect  of  the  result  of  persecu- 
tions excercised  in'  the  Inquisition  over  the  Protestants,  and 
afterwards  carried  on  by  the  Arminians  and  Contra-Armini- 
ans  mutually,  might  have  taught  it  consideratencss  at  least; 
l)Ut  the  government  .slighted  the  les.sons  of  experience,  and 
if  it  did  not  use  sword  or  stake,  this  was  owing  to  the 
changes  of  time  and  penal  systems  more  than  to  the  .spirit 
which  moved  it. 

From  an  article  in  the  Constitution,  insuring  protection 
to  any  existing  denomination,  the  government  inferred  that 
a  new  denomination  could  not  claim  protection,  but  must  be 
suppressed  and  persecuted.  Aside  from  the  doubtful  logic 
of  this  argument,  the  first  thing  to  be  decided  upon  should 
have  been  the  question  if  the  so-called  seceders  could  be 
truthfully  styled  a  new  denomination.  The  latter  asserted 
that  new  doctrines  had  been  introduced  into  the  Established 
Church  they  had  left,  and  that  contrariwise  they  adhered  to 
the  old,  orthodox  standards,  as  founded  on  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

Consequently  the  government  should  have  inquired  into 
this  matter,  or  kept  silence;  but  it  only  consulted  the  newly- 
made  regulations  of  the  Church,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
General  Assembly,  Some  long-forgotten  articles  of  the 
Penal  Code,  and  products  of  revolutionary  tyranny,  by 
which  a.ssemblies  numbering  over  twenty  persons  were  for- 
bidden, unless  by  con.sent  of  the  magistrate,  were  brought 
to  bear  upon  those  people,  and  circuit  judges  were  enjoined 


—  22  — 

to  prosecute  tlieiii  in  case  of  violation  of  said  articles.  And 
thus  it  came  to  pass  that,  under  a  government  which 
vaunted  toleration,  harmless  persons  who  isolated  them- 
selves for  tlie  purpose  of  praying,  singing  and  listening  to 
the  exposition  of  truth  according  to  their  religious  convic- 
tions, were  brought  before  courts  of  justice,  and  in  some 
places  were  punished  with  fines  and  imprisonment,  in  others 
were  pestered  with  quarterings,  or  dispersed  by  military 
force.  Nay,  even  if  some  courts  acquitted,  the  vexations 
and  persecutions  did  not  cease,  for  the  very  reprovable  fact 
that,  b}'  this  time,  circuit  courts  being  instituted,  those 
judges  who  had  decided  for  acquittal  were  intentionally 
turned  out  of  office. 

L,ittle  by  little  however  the  sentiment  of  the  people  in 
general  denounced  the  course  taken  by  the  government, 
and  permission  was  granted  the  Seceders  to  organize  sepa- 
rate congregations.  But  not  before  another  William  took 
the  reins  of  government  did  the  worryings,  to  which  they 
were  continually  exposed,  cease." 


On  the  8th  of  April,  1835,  the  first  Particular  Synod  met 
at  Groningen,  and  on  the  2d  of  March,  1836,  the  first  Synod 
(General  Assembly)  was  held  at  Amsterdam.  The  Church 
was  denominated  the  Chri.stian  Seceder  Church,  firstly  be- 
cause the  government  monopolized  the  nauje  ,, Reformed" 
as  a  right  pertaining  to  the  Established  Institute;  and 
secondly,  becatr.se  the  several  Seceder  congregations  which 
applied  for  acknowledgment — the  same  as  incorporation 
in  this  country — were  recorded  as  such  by  the  state. 

Not  until  1S69  was  the  sum  total  of  the  congregations, 
acknowledged  by  the  government,  and  accorded  the  name 
of  Christian  Reformed  Church.  This  did  not  imply  that  the 
new  denomination  was  set  on  a  level  with  the  other  denom- 


illations,  Roman  Catholics,  Lutherans  and  Baptists;  in  no 
wise,  for  while  the  latter  were  maintained  b}'  the  state's 
finances,  the  Christian  Reformed  people  had  to  sustain  their 
own  congregations,  besides  paying  taxes  for  the  support  of 
the  former.  And  this  is  tl.e  situation  of  the  Christian  Re- 
formed Church  in  the  old  country  until  the  present  day. 

By  this  time  tlie  few  congregations  and  ministers  of  1834 
had  increased  their  numbers  to  300  and  225  respectively. 
The  Secession  became  wiiiespread;  the  love  for  the  old 
truths  became  general.  The  finst  preachers  received  their 
theological  training  from  ministers  living  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  and  soon  the  assumption  prevailed — for  the 
good  Holland  people  are  all  .said  to  be  theologians  in  their 
own  way — that  the  mini.sters  were  different  one  from  an- 
other; but  this  was  not  in  the  substance  of  the  preaching, 
Imt  in  the  wa}-  of  presenting  the  truth,  which  was  a  matter 
of  course,  as  every  servant  of  Christ  has  his  own  talent  or 
talents  from  the  Lord.  This  prejudice  was  soon  done  away 
with  however  by  the  institution  in  1S54  of  the  theological 
seminar}'  at  Kampen,  with  four  professors — T.  F.  De  Haan, 
S.  Van  Velzen,  A.  Brummelkarap  (the  two  last  named 
being  brothe-'s-in-law  to  Dr.  A.  C.  Van  Raalte,  the  founder 
of  the  Dutch  colony  and  Holland  City,  Ottawa  Co.,  Mich.), 
and  H.  De  Cock,  son  of  the  late  father  of  the  Secession, 
who  died  November  14,  1842. 

The  first  ministers,  who  could  not  receive  an  adequate 
theological  training,  as  afforded  at  Kampen,  have  none  the 
less  been  signally  qualified  and  blessed  by  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard.  The  first  profe,s.sors  of  Kampen  Seminary  have 
all  been  called  to  their  eternal  reward,  after  having  lived  to 
a  good  old  age.  Their  places  have  been  taken  by  a  j-ounger 
generation,  the  children  of  the  Secession.  The  first  profes- 
sors rendered   the  best  of  .services  to  the    rising    Church. 


—  24  — 

They  will  be  in  blessed  remembrance  as  long  as  the  Chris- 
tian Reformed  Church  shall  last,  especially  by  those  who 
were  brought  up  at  their  feet  and  received  their  theological 
instruction  at  Kampen  Seminary.  Among  these  last  are  tlu- 
three  theological  professors  in  our  own  seminary  at  Grand 
Rapids,  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  and  several  of  the 
preachers  in  our  Church  of  to-day,  who  successively  came 
over  from  the  Netherlands  to  serve  in  the  American  field. 
At  the  present  day  the  theological  department  of  the 
Kampen  Seminary  has  five  professors,  among  whom  the  il- 
lustrious divine  and  splendid  orator,  H.  Bavinck,  D.  D., 
stands  prominent,  with  71  students.  The  literary  depart- 
ment,  with  an  equal  number  of  professors,  has  70  students. 


In  the  year  1886  an  all- wise  Providence  caused  the  learned 
Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  of  world-wide  repute,  with  many  others,  to 
be  expelled  from  the  Established  Institute.  Many  long 
years  this  great  and  good  man  of  God.  this  eloquent 
preacher,  this  indefatigable  worker  for  the  cause  of  truth, 
had  in  some  respects  successfully  labored  to  restore  the 
Established  Church  to  its  old-time  glory  as  a  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth.  Many  within  the  pale  of  the  Church 
had  by  the  grace  of  God  and  by  Dr.  Kuyper' s  untiring  zeal, 
been  enlightened  as  to  the  truth  and  the  corrupted  con- 
dition of  the  Church,  and  turned  to  the  old  ways  to  walk 
therein.  But  the  government  and  the  spirit  of  the  Church 
leaders  had  remained  the  same,  as  was  clearly  shown  by  the 
turning  out  in  one  day  of  Dr.  A.  Kuyper  and  some  eighty 
elders'  and  members  of  the  Church. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  new  movement  viz.,  the  volun- 
tarj'  leaving  by  div^ers  congregations  and  per.sons  in  different 
parts  of  the  land  of  an  In.stitute  which,  by  its  fatal  Erastian 
government,    and   consequently  hierarchical  actions  of  its 


—  25  — 
judicatories,  pandered  to  all  shades  of  heterodoxies,  and 
sheltered  all  kinds  of  heretics,  but  in  the  meantime  was 
fierce  in  denouncing-  and  removing  those  God-fearing  men 
who  stood  by  tlie  truth,  and  whose  only  and  hoh'  aim  it 
was  to  serve  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  Word  and 
tlie  good,  old  Standards  of  the  Church. 

A  friend  of  the  writer,  the  first  minister  who  left  the 
Established  Institute,  in  i886,  with  all  of  his  congregation, 
the  Rev.  G.  Vlug,  preached  to  his  people  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath after  that  event  from  the  well-chosen  text:  "The  snare 
is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped"  (Ps.  124:7) — a  word  of  God 
which  fittingly  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  Seceders  of  the 
second  great  period  in  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Churches 
in  the  Netherlands. 

These  Reformed  people  persistently  declined  the  name  of 
Seceders  or  Separatists,  the)'  being  unwilling,  and  for  good 
reasons,  to  give  up  their  title  either  to  the  name  or  the 
property  of  the  Established  Institute,  but  called  themselves 
"DoLEERENDE,"  from  the  Latin  "doleo,"  i.  e.,  mourn, 
signifying  those  who  bemourned  the  "doleful"  condition  of 
the  Church.  They  had  to  give  up  both,  however.  Who 
should  persuade  Ahab? 

It  goes  without  saying  that  there  was  much  rejoicing  in 
the  old  Seceder  camp,  mo.st  of  all  because  "the  snare  was 
broken."  Brotherly  congratulations  were  mo.st  cordially 
extended,  and  even  a  little  courting  was  indulged  in;  but 
the  "Doleerende",  hoping  against  hope,  preferred  a  reunion 
with  their  first,  though  faithless  love,  the  Established  Insti- 
tute, if  so  be  she  would  better  her  ways.  But  no  such 
thing  occurred.     Man  proposes,  God  disposes. 

The  limited  space  of  this  outline  does  not  permit  ivs  to 
enlarge  upon  the  motives  for  not  entering  sooner  into 
denominational  union  witli  the  old  Seceder  Church.    SuflBce 


—  26  — 

it  to  say  that,  in  the  year  of  grace  189^  this  melting  to- 
gether was  effected  to  the  gratification  of  all  who  had  so 
long  prayed  for  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace 
and  church  fellowship.  These  United.  Presbyterian,  Re- 
formed Churches  accepted  the  name  of  Reformed  Churchts 
of  the  Netherlands.  At  the  time  of  the  union  of  these 
bodies,  June  17,  1892,  they  numbered  700  congregations  in 
583  different  locations,  the  old  branch  contributing  400  and 
the  new  300. 

Oct.  20,  1880,  some  forty  consecrated  men,  members  of 
the  Established  Institute,  who  hoped  for  and  aimed  at  the 
reviving  of  the  distinctive  principles,  brought  into  being  the 
"Vrije  Universiteit"  (Free  University),  which  reckons,  for 
particular  reasons,  its  birthday  from  Feb.  2,  1897.  It  is 
located  at  Amsterdam,  the  country's  capital.  The  Dolee- 
rende  of  half  a  dozen  years  later  were,  so  to  speak,  cradled 
there.  The  originator  and  soul  of  this  splendid  institution 
is  that  already  mentioned,  world-famed  theologian,  orator, 
author,  and  politician  of  large  influence,  A.  Ku}'per,  D.  I)., 
of  his  eminent  scholarly  colleagues  "facile  princeps." 
There  are  two  more  doctors  of  divinity  for  the  theological 
faculty,  one  doctor  of  law  for  the  juridical  faculty,  and  one 
doctor  of  letters  for  the  literary  faculty,  all  able  and  skill- 
ful men.  To-day  there  are  1 12  students  in  all — theology, 
76;  letters,  17;  law,  22.  A  Reformed  gymnasium  or  college, 
connected  with  the  University,  counts  112  pupils.  Side  by 
side  these  institutions,  at  Kampen  and  Amsterdam,  work 
for  the  good  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Netherlands. 


Times  have  marvelously  changed  since  1834.  Then  a 
handful  of  godly  people,  standing  by  the  faith  once  delivered 
,to  the  saints — now  an  army  of  many,  many  thousands,  who 
do  not  bow  unto  the  god  of  this   world.     Several  of   them 


—  27  — 

have  been  knighted  by  the  late  King  William  III,  and 
afterwards  by  his  noble  wife,  the  Queen-Regent;  even  some 
of  the  old  guard  having  been  thus  honored  on  account  of 
tlieir  good  citizenship  and  valuable  services  rendered  the 
countr}'  by  their  religious  and  philanthropic  operations  and 
in  many  other  ways. 

The  Reformed  Churches  brought  their  beneficial  influence 
to  bear  upon  social  and  political  issues,  and  the  signal  favor 
of  the  Most  High  is  their  crowning  glory. 

It  is  from  tliose  Reformed  people  of  glorious  Reformation 
times;  it  is  from  these  persecuted  believers,  who  through  so 
much  earthly  tribulation  entered  into  their  earthly  Canaan, 
and  many  of  them  into  the  heavenly,  that  the  Christian  Re- 
formed Church  of  America  mainly  received  its  constituents. 

But  ere  we  enter  upon  this  new  field  of  narration,  let  me 
try  to  complete  the  brief  story  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of 
the  Netherlands  by  relating  wha't  they  have  performed  in 
the  line  of  mi.>-sions.  In  all  tliese  years,  from  1834  and  up- 
wards, the  spirit  of  missions  was  glowing  in  the  Churches 
of  the  exodus;  but  not  until  some  internal  dissensions  had 
been  fairly  subdued,  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  secured,  and 
home  mission  work  provided  for,  could  foreign  mission  work 
be  earnestly  thought  of  and  started.  And  whereas  little 
Holland,  with  a  population  of  about  six  millions  of  inhab- 
itants, has  extensive  colonies  in  the  East  Indies,  with  near- 
ly twenty  millions  of  population,  most  of  them  Mohamme- 
dans, it  was  but  natural  to  perform  a  long-neglected  duty 
by  fir.st  ministering  to  the  needs  of  these  benighted  people. 

The  first  two  missionaries  were  unsuccessful,  chiefly  on 
account  of  deficient  training  for  the  work,  proving  by  their 
example  that  emissaries  of  Christ,  in  order  to  be,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  abundant  in  labors  and  good  results,  should 
not  onl)'  be  men  of  God,  full  of  Christ  and  love  to  .souls, 


—  28  — 

but  should  receive  an  adequate  training,  should  have  good 
scholarship,  and  be  the  recipients  of  those  particular  attain- 
ments which  are  the  special  gifts  from  the  Lord  of  the  vine- 
yard to  whomsoever  He  calls  to  that  most  arduous  task  of 
winning  the  heathen  for  the  kingdom. 

The  Rev.  Enno  R.  Haan  was  sent  to  Java,  Sept.  17,  1873. 
As  the  pioneer  in  the  work,  he  deserves  especial  mention 
and  credit  for  the  good  he  did  during  his  ten  3'ears'  stay  in 
that  unhealthy  climate.  On  returning  to  his  native  land, 
in  1883,  he  had  the  comfort  of  leaving  to  his  successor  two 
congregations,  one  of  converted  natives  at  Quitang,  and  an- 
other of  Hollanders  at  Batavia.  Failing  health  caused  him 
to  repatriate.  He  first  lectured  throughout  the  Netherlands 
on  the  cause  of  missions,  was  afterwards  called  to  a  pastor- 
ate, and  is  now  the  beloved  pastor  of  one  of  our  Christian 
Reformed  congregations  at  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

His  successor  was  the  able  and  amiable  Rev.  D.  Huysing, 
who  faithfully  and  successfully  prosecuted  the  work  so 
hopefully  begun. 

The,  Rev.  A.  Delfos  was  sent  out  in  T884.  He  labored  at 
Soerabaya,  Java,  where  he  gathered  a  congregation  of  Hol- 
landers residing  there,  meanwhile  ministering  unto  the 
natives.  All  too  soon  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  work 
on  account  of  ill-health.  His  successor  was  the  Rev.  A.  Bol- 
wijn. 

In  1887  the  Rev.  W.  Pos,  and  a  year  later,  the  Rev.  C. 
De  Bruin  were  sent  to  the  island  Soomba.  They  proved 
excellent  workers,  and  soon  organized  a  little  congregation 
of  natives. 

In  1894,  after  the  consolidation  of  the  Christian  Reformed 
Church  and  the  Doleerende,  the  Rev.  B.  J.  Horstman  and 
Mr.  Scheurer,  M.  D.,  were  added  to  the  forces  in  Central 
Java.     A  hospital  has  been  established  by  the  latter,  where 


—  29  — 

every  week  hundreds  of  sick  people  receive  medical  treat- 
ment, the  gospel  treatment  included. 

The  last,  who  was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  Purworedjo, 
Java,  is  the  Rev.  L,.  Adriaanse,  for  some  years  a  minister 
of  the  Word  in  the  Reformed  Church  at  Utrecht,  Nether- 
lands. 

Twenty-five  years  of  consecutive,  earnest  labor  by  the 
missionaries  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Netherlands 
have  proven  true  the  promise  of  thelyOrd:  "Cast  thy  bread 
upon  tlie  waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  da^-s." 
Faith  and  perseverance  have — as  usually  along  this  line  of 
Christian  activity — been  many  a  time  put  to  the  severest 
test,  but  Christ  shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

The  Reformed  Churches  of  the  Netherlands  bid  fair  to 
l)ecome  the  glory  of  the  land.  And  so  does  their  mission- 
ary work.      "Soli  Deo  Gloria!" 


II. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to  pey'form.- 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea 

And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

In  the  year  1609  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  sent  out 
Captain  Hudson,  with  the  merchant-man  "De  Halve 
.Vlaan,"  i.  e.  "The  Crescent,"  in  order  to  find  a  northwestern 
passage  to  the  Ea.st  Indies.  This  pa.ssage  was  not  found, 
but  the  result  of  this  enterprise  was  of  great  import  to  the 


—  30  — 

cause  of  religion.  It  really  led  to  the  transplanting  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Churcli  to  American  soil. 

Business  negotiations  were  opened  on  a  large  scale  with 
the  Americans.  Soon  more  Holland  people  came  over,  and 
on  the  spot  where  Capt.  Hud.son  first  landed  a  fort  was 
built,  which,  with  more  people  immigrating,  gave  birth  in 
1 612  to  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  Am.sterdam,  now  New- 
York.  Later  on  Fort  Orange  was  built,  150  miles  up  tlie 
Hudson  River,  where  the  city  of  Albany  is  now  found. 

Pious  imtnigrants  and  ministers  arrived  in  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  colony,  but  all  historians  agree  in  not  know- 
ing at  what  time  the  first  Reformed  congregation  was  or- 
ganized. The  Collegiate  Church  is  supposed  to  have  been 
formed  in  1619.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  which  is  second  in  chronological  order 
in  this  country,  the  Episcopalian  being  first. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  Church  sustained  relations  with  the 
mother  country,  and  from  there  received  its  ministers  and 
increased  membership  It  was  the  established  Church  of 
the  colony  until  the  colony's  surrender  to  the  British  in 
1664;  after  which  its  circumstances  were  materially  changed 
and  its  growth  checked.  In  1693  the  House  of  Assembly 
yielded  to  the  plan  of  Governor  Fletcher,  and  passed  an  act 
which  w-ent  to  establish  the  Episcopal  Church.  From  that 
year  until  1776  the  Dutch,  English.  Presbyterian.  Scotch, 
and  all  non-Episcopal  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  county 
of  New  York,  and  adjoining  counties,  were  obliged  not  only 
to  support  their  own  ministers,  but  sustain,  through  a  heavy 
taxation,  the  small  body  of  Episcopalians.  In  this  way 
many  members  were  alienated  from  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church.  During  this  period  it  also  experienced  severe  losses 
from  another  cause.  Despite  the  fact,  which  was  plainly 
apparent,    that  the   English   language  was  to  become   the 


—  31  — 
common  language  of  tlie  country,  there  was  a  questionable 
persistence  in  the  use  of  the  Dutch  language  in  the  services 
of  the  Church,  notwithstanding  that  a  large  bod}-  of  the 
younger  members  clamored  for  a  change,  which  would 
accommodate  l)oth  German  and  English  hearers.  Finally, 
in  1764,  the  point  was  yielded,  and  preaching  in  English 
permitted,  though  not  until  many  of  the  members  were 
<lriven  off  into  other  denominations.  (An  object  lesson  for 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  to-day.) 

From  the  commencement  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
in  this  country  it  was  subordinate  to  the  Classis  of  Amster- 
dam. The  Church  could  not  ordain  ministers  or  judicially 
decide  in  ecclesiastical  disputes  without  the  consent  of  said 
Classis.  The  result  was  a  controvers}-  which  agitated  the 
Church  for  more  than  thirty  years,  from  1737  tot  1771.  A 
movement  was  set  on  foot  to  throw  off  dependence  on  the 
present  Classis.  This  occasioued  a  violent  contest,  which 
was  iiot  terminated  till  J 771,  when  Rev.  Di.  Livingston, 
having  previously  convinced  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  of 
the  desirableness  of  the  measure,  and  having  prepared  the 
way  b}'  consulting  wise  men  of  both  parties,  induced  the 
consistory  of  his  church  to  call  a  convention. 

The  convention  met  in  New  York  in  October,  177 1,  and 
resulted  in  a  harmonious  arrangemeut  for  a  complete  or- 
ganization of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  this  countr}- 
as  an  independent  body.  It  adopted  the  same  standards  as 
the  mother  Church,  viz.,  the  Belgic  Confession,  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism,  and  the  Canons  of  Dordt  on  the  famous 
five  points;  Divine  Predestination,  Definite  Atonement  of 
Christ,  Man's  Entire  Corruption  and  Helplessness,  His 
Conversion  by  God's  Grace  Alone,  and  Perseverance  of  the 
Saints. 

In  1 8 10  the  theological  seminarv  at   New  Brunswick  was 


—  34  — 
the  old  country.     If  Holland  be  taken  as  the  center,  Vries- 
land,  the  farthest  was  and  is  only  nine  miles  off: 

Five  had  log  churches,  and  soon  after  all  of  them  had 
built  themselves  suitable  places  for  public  worship,  Zeeland 
having  one  of  the  finest  in  the  solid  colonial  style.  By  the 
blessing  of  God  all  this  was  brought  about  in  two  years' 
time  without  any  outside  financial  support.  The  people 
worked  in  faith  and  hope,  dependent  upon  God  alone. 
During  the  first  year  a  General  Assembly  was  convened, 
and  then  it  was  resolved  that  henceforth  two  such  gather- 
ings should  be  held. 

Thus  far  all  went  well  materially  and  spiritually,  and 
better  than  might  have  been  anticipated,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  many  privations  and  dangers  the  people  were 
exposed  to,  the  malarial  diseases  peculiar  to  soil  and  climate; 
the  unwonted  and  toilsome  labor  in  the  woods,  and  last  not 
least  the  variety  of  the  people,  who,  though  all  coming 
from  a  common  fatherland,  had  their  peculiar  shades  of 
religious  opinion  according  to  their  training  received  at 
home. 

If  the  Holland  people  had  continued  the  course  taken, 
"to  be  by  them.selves  in  Church  matters,"  if  they  had 
sustained  or  sought  ecclesiastical  correspondence  with  the 
mother  Church  in  the  old  country,  there  might  never  have 
been  that  much-deplored  religious  breach  between  the 
Reformed  people  which  occurred  not   long  afterwards. 

Dr.  A.  C.  Von  Raalte  and  the  Rev.  H.  P.  Scholte  had 
left  the  Netherlands  of  their  own  accord,  without  acknowl- 
edging the  mother  Church  in  requesting  credentials  or 
letters  of  recommendation;  neither  had  the  people,  who  had 
followed  them  in  the  exodus.  Consequently  there  was  no 
connection  between  the  Reformed  colonists  and  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  abroad. 


—  35     - 

As  Christian  gentlemen  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  De  Witt 
of  New  York,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wyckoff  of  Albany,  the  Rev. 
Roniein  of  Detroit,  and  the  Rev.  Hoj'dt  of  Kalamazoo, 
besides  Judge  Kellogg  of  Allegan,  had  given  the  Rev.  Van 
Raalte  the  best  of  advice  in  regard  to  colonization,  etc.,  but 
outside  of  this  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  as  a  body  had 
not,  up  to  this  time,  shown  any  particular  interest  in  the 
newly-arrived  immigrants. 

June  I,  1849,  Dr.  Wyckoff  appeared  upon  the  scene. 
On  his  tour  westward  in  the  interest  of  home  missions  he 
also  visited  the  new  Dutch  colony.  The  people  were 
delighted  to  meet  with  a  Christi.in  minister  of  the  Reformed 
denomination  and  to  receive  words  of  encouragement  and 
good  cheer  from  his  lips.  He  at  once  desired  a  meeting  to 
be  called,  as  he  had  urgent  business  in  Wisconsin;  but  on 
being  requested  to  remain  a  few  days  and  to  look  over  the 
new  colony,  he  assented.  In  the  meantime  an  assembly  of 
ministers  and  elders  was  convened.  These  brethren  could 
not  be  said  to  be  duly  delegated  by  tipieir  congregations, 
opportunity  lacking;  they  had  no  credentials  to  present, 
with  directions  to  negotiate  or  to  act  on  so  important  a 
matter  as  "corporate  union."  None  the  less,  this  assembly 
was  considered  a  regular,  duly  constituted  one.  But  for 
this  very  reason,  when  the  matter  of  union  with  the  (then) 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  America  was  brought  up,  many 
of  the  brethren  reluctantly  entered  into  the  consideration 
and  discussion  of  an  issue  of  so  great  moment. 

Three  questions  were  asked  by  Dr.  Wyckoff:  i.  What 
are  your  religious  standards?  2.  Do  you  desire  to  unite 
with  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church?  3.  Do  you  want  any 
financial  help? 

The  first  and  third  questions  were  easily  and  readily 
answered.     As  to  the  second,  there   were  not   a   few   mis- 


-36- 

givings.  Most  of  the  people  did  not  understand  the  English 
language  well  enough  to  judge  intelligently  of  matters 
pertaining  to  the  religious  condition  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  while  others  were  not  at  all  acquainted  with  that 
ecclesiastical  body.  The  testimonies  of  Dr.  Van  Raalte  and 
a  few  others  in  regard  to  its  doctrines  and  practices  were 
the  only  sources  from  which  the  people  could  draw  the  so 
much  needed  intelligence.  The  Dutch  people  are  singularly 
cautious,  and  no  wonder — thoughts  of  bondage,  oppression 
and  persecution  still  haunting  them,  and  so  many  demurred. 
But  finally  the  assurances  of  Dr.  Wyckoflf,  that  his 
Church  was  sound  in  doctrine  and  exactly  the  same  as  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church  in  the  Netherlands,  prevailed 
and  caused  the  Assembl}'  to  decide  in  favor  of  denomina- . 
tional  union  with  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  Whosoever 
still  he-sitated  was  fully  tranquilized  by  Dr.  Wyckoff's 
solemn  declaration,  which  in  the  report  to  his  Church  he 
put  down  in  these  words:     "I  stated  that  they  would 

BE  MOST  PERFECTLY  FREE,  AT  ANY  TIME  THEY  FOUND  AN 
ECCLESIASTICAL  CONNECTION  OPPOSED  TO  THEIR  RELIGIOUS 
PROSPERITY  OR  ENJOYMENT,  TO  BID  US  A  FRATERNAL 
ADIEU  AND  BE  BY  THEMSELVES." 

This  .settled  the  question  And  on  these  grounds  the 
denominational  union  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  settlers  with 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  was  pronounced  an  ac- 
complished fact. 


Some,  however,  could  not  help  complaining  of  the  hurried 
way  in  which  this  momentous  step  was  taken,  and  the 
people,  since  that  time  aroused  and  feeling  the  need  of  bet- 
ter acquainting  themselves  with  the  new  dispensation  they 
lived  under  and  the  new  Church  they  were  now  connected 
with,  found  that  the  preaching  and   practice  of  the  Dutch 


—  31  — 
Reformed  Church  differed  a  good  deal  from  what  had  been 
told  them,  and  that  in  uniting  with  it  the  necessary  precau- 
tions and  considerations  had  been  lost  sight  of.  Complaints 
were  made  to  tliat  effect.  Dr.  Van  Raalte  used  all  his  logic 
and  eloquence  to  convince  the  people  that  there  was  no 
positive  reason  for  uneasiness.  But  the  more  the  people 
learned  the  real  state  of  affairs,  the  more  they  felt  that  they 
liad  done  the  wrong  thing.  As  early  as  1852,  at  a  classical 
meeting  held  at  Zeeland,  freema.sonry  and  other  objection- 
able features  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  were  made 
points  of  discussion  and  the  desirableness  was  expressed  of 
becoming  an  independent,  separate  Holland  Reformed 
Church. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  Church  could  not — at  least  not  in 
the  estimation  of  these  colonists— consistently  or  fully  claim 
the  epithet  ,, Reformed,"  while  some  fundamental  doctrines 
were  sadly  overlooked  or  misinterpreted  by  not  a  few  preach- 
ers. Richard  Baxter's  "Roepstem  tot  de  Onbekeerden" 
(obviously  an  earnest  and  well-meant  appeal  to  repentance) 
was  highly  recommended  by  leaders  in  the  Church,  though 
a  century  ago  condemned  by  Erskine  and  Comrie  as  heter- 
odox in  .some  points.  The  Lord's  table  was  found  open  to 
members  of  every  .so  called  Christian  denomination.  In 
public  praise  a  liymn  book  was  used,  containing  some  800 
.songs  of  human  composition,  with  only  69  out  of  the  150 
Psalms  of  the  Bible. 

All  this  proved  clearly  that  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
was  not  at  all  like  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  the 
Netherlands.  This  was  too  much  for  many  who  clung  to 
the  old-time  religion,  who  for  conscience's  .sake  had  given 
up  the  Established  Church  in  the  old  country;  there  was 
too  much  contrary  to  their  religious  convictions,  to  be 
tolerated   without   complaint  or  protest.     But    the   leaders 


—  3^  — 
among  the  colonists  refused  to  go  back  and  to  withdraw  from 
the  Duich  Reformed  Churcli. 

Disagreement  between  brethren  grew  daily.  The  crisis 
had  come.  March  14,  1857,  Rev.  K.  Van  den  Bosch,  of 
Noordeloos,  with  16  members,  sent  in  their  letter  of  with- 
drawal from  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 

The  Graaf.schap  congregation,  then  without  a  minister, 
came  next.  April  7  they  drew  up  their  act  of  secession 
from  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  America,  signed  by 
113  members  (11  remaining  with  the  old  flock),  and  pre- 
sented it  the  next  day  to  the  Classis,  then  convened  at  Zee- 
land. 

March  19,  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Klyn  of  Grand  Rapids  joined 
the  secession,  but  soon  flopped  back,  leaving  behind  enough 
sheep  to  form  a  congregation,  which  ere  long  became  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  in  that  locality. 
Vriesland,  Zeeland,  and  others  soon  followed. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  Holland  Christian  Reformed 
Church  of  America  df  to-day.  The  original  standpoint  of 
old -country  fame  and  freedom  was  regained. 

First  she  adopted  the  reactionary  name  of  "The  True 
Dutch  Reformed  Church."  In  1880  she  took  the  old- 
country  name,  with  the  additional  "Holland."  In  1894 
she  dropped  the  "Holland,"  since  she  included  English 
and  German-.speaking  congregations  as  well  as  Holland. 

The  development  of  the  Church  was  at  first  an  extremely 
slow  one,  as  are  all  things  worth  living  and  predestined  to 
be  a  blessing  to  generations  for  ages  to  come.  When  as- 
cending to  heaven  our  gracious  Lord  could  point  to  only  a 
few  hundreds  of  professed  believers. 

Saddest  of  all  to  the  hearts  of  those  brave  and  godly 
pioneers  was  the  fact  that  the  much-beloved  mother  Church 


-  39  — 
in  tlie  Netherlands  had  her  misgivings  as  to  the  legal  birth 
of  the  new-born  American  sister. 

The  future  looked  anything  but  bright,  with  only  one  un- 
dershepherd,  the  Rev.  K.  Van  den  Bosch,  to  minister  to 
the  wants  of  the  various  congregations,  which  at  first  were 
small  and  financially  too  weak  to  call  and  sustain  ministers 
of  their  own;  but  faith  in  God  and  the  consciousness  of 
serving  a  good  and  holy  cause  enabled  them  soon  to  call 
ministers  from  the  old  countrj-.  The  Revs.  W.  H.  Van 
Leeuwen,  D.  J.  Van  der  Werp  (an  uncle  of  the  writer),  and 
J.  H.  Frieling  were  among  the  first  to  heed  the  cry:  "Come 
over  and  help  us." 

After  that  time  the  growth  of  the  Church  became 
marvelous.  More  ministers  from  the  Netherlands  came  on 
call,  among  whom  was  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  and  they 
heartily  embraced  the  movement  of  1857.  B}^  degrees  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church  in  the  old  countr}-  got  better 
informed  with,  and  more  favorably  inclined  towards,  the 
new  denomination,  this  being  accomplished  through  private 
correspondence,  written  apologies,  and  delegations  to  the 
Netherlaud  Church  of  brethren  who  aforetime  had  served 
in  its  ranks.  The  result  was  that  brethren,  requesting  let- 
ters of  membership  before  leaving  the  fatherland,  were 
given  the  advice  of  being  very  careful  in  the  choice  of  a 
Church  when  arriving  in  the  West,  yea  some  congregations, 
more  positive  than  others,  in  filling  out  credentials,  had  the 
firmness  to  direct  the  address  exclusively  to  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church.  Most  of  the  immigrants,  after  1880, 
found  in  the  Christian  Reformed  Chuich  wat  they  left  in 
the  mother  Church,  and  thanked  God.  The}'  reported  so  to 
relatives  left  behind,  who,  in  their  turn  coming  over,  joined 
the  Christian  Reformed  Church  without  any  hesitation,  and 
accessions  were  and  are  many  up  to  this  date. 


—  40  — 

From  1879  till  1881  the  Holland  braixh  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  especially  the  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  clas- 
ses, remonstrated  time  and  again  in  many  consecutive 
General  Assemblies  of  said  bod}-  against  the  tolerating  of 
freemasons  and  such  like  as  members  of  the  Church  and 
communicants,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  without  any  suc- 
ces,  divers  members  and  presidents  themselves  being  lodge- 
men.  The  Dutch  Reformed  Church  could  not,  or  would 
not,  take  any  decisive  step  in  that  matter,  at  least  not  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Hollanders.  The  General  Assembly  as- 
serted that,  according  to  "Reformed  Church  polity"  it  could 
not  go  any  farther  than  to  leave  the  decision  of  disciplining 
members  of  secret  societies  to  the  respective  classes.  Af- 
terwards, when  this  action  did  not  prove  satisfactory  to  the 
various  classes  and  congregations,  it  was  resolved  to  refer 
the  matter  to  the  consistories  for  final  decision.  Conse- 
quently members  of  the  Anurican  Reformed  Church  could 
be  seen  moving  from  Fir>t  Street  church  to  Third  Street 
church,  in  the  same  localit}',  for  the  simple  reason  that  in 
First  Street  no  lodgemen  were  tolerated,  but  graciously  re- 
ceived in  Third.  These  curiosities,  to  be  true  to  history, 
are  getting  scarce  day  by  day  on  account  of  the  more  for- 
bearing attitude  of  the  Church  toward  the  lodge. 

In  1882  the  Christian  Reformed  Synod  of  Zwolle,  Nether- 
lands, liad  the  boldness  to  send  a  general  epistle  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  bur- 
den of  which  was:  ^'Brethren,  put  away  from  among  yotw- 
selves  that  wicked  person.''  It  was  received  in  a  manner  be- 
tween a  smile  and  a  sneer.  Since  that  date  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  of  the  Netherlands  has  fallen  from  grace, 
the  grace  of  the  elder  American  sister. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  entreaties  to  check  the   growing 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


—  41     - 

decline  in  doctrine  and  practice  resulted  in  utter  disap- 
pointment, in  18S2  a  second  withdrawal  from  the  American 
Reformed  Church  was  effected  by  the  following  congrej:',a- 
tions:  Grand  Rapids,  Zeeland,  Grand  HaVen,  Drenthe, 
East  Saugatuck,  Montague,  and  Holland,  the  late  Dr.  Yau 
Raalte's  church.  After  due  consideration  all  these  united 
with  the  Christian  Reformed  Church. 

In  1890  the  True  Protestant  Dutch  Reformed  Church, 
consisting  of  a  dozen  congregations  in  New  Jersey  and  New 
York,  which  as  early  as  1822  had  seceded  from  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  for  reasons  just  mentioned,  also  joined 
our  Church  and  swelled  its  ranks. 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  to-daj-  numbers: 

Classes  or  Faml-  Cominu-  Souls.        Congre-     Miu- 

Presbyteries.  lies.  ulcants.  gallons,    isters. 

Grand  Rapids....  2,614  3.829  13.216  25  17 

Holland ;..  2,021  3.712  9.938  19  15 

Muskegon 1,438    .      1.912  9.951  16  8 

Illinois 1,273  2,221  6,567  14  13 

Hud.son 838  1,520  4157  9  6 

Iowa 1,084  2,194  5-778  i'5  14 

Ostfriesland 485  816  2,502  14  8 

Hackensack 549  568  1,878  13  9 

Total  8         10,302       16,772  50,987        135         89 

Ministers  deceased,  17;  retired,  3;  candidates,  2, 
The  first  preacher  appointed  to  educate  young  men  for 
the  ministry  of  the  Word  was  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Van  Leeu- 
wen.  The  only  one  who  received  his  theological  preparation 
from  him  (and  that  but  in  part)  was  the  Rev.  J.  Schepers, 
now  at  Vogel  Center,  Mich.,  a  cousin  of  the  late  Rev.  J.  R. 
Schepers,  who  was  ordained  by  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  fifties  and  sent  to  labor  among  the  Holland- 
ers scattered  throughout  Indiana,  especially  in  Lafayette 
and  vicinity.  The  origin  of  our  Christian  Reformed  con- 
gregation in  that  localit.v  has  to  be  traced  from  that  source. 

6 


—  42  — 

The  second  professor  was  the  late  Rev.  D.  J.  Van  der 
Werp,  from  1864  to  1875.  The  Revs.  J.  Schepers,  J.  vStad, 
W.  Greve,  L.  Rietdijk,  G.  Broene,  C.  Bode,  C.  Vorst,  and 
J.  Van  der  Werp  were  his  students. 

His  successor  was  the  Rev.  G.  E.  Boer,  then  pastor  at 
Grand  Rapids.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  our  Church,  held  at  Chicago.  Released  from 
his  charge,  he  preached  his  farewell  sermon  March  12, 
1876,  and  entered  upon  his  new  duties  March  15,  1876, 
with  an  oration  on  "The  Training  of  Future  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  "  For  over  twenty  years  the  professor  has 
labored  and  is  still  laboring  w^ith  devotion  and  success. 
Through  his  instrumentality  many  good  preachers  have 
been  given  to  the  Church.  To  him  the  Church  owes  a 
never-to  be  paid  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  labors  as  profes- 
sor of  theology,  as  editor  for  many  years  of  our  Church 
organ,  De  Wachter,  and  his  .services  rendered  to  the  Church 
in  many  other  ways. 

In  September,  1884,  the  Rev.  G.  K.  Hemkes,  pastor  of 
Vriesland  congregation,  was  elected  professor  of  theology 
and  installed  as  such,  the  Church  thus  providing  for  a  long- 
felt  want,  as  the  number  of  students  was  steadily  on  the  in- 
crease. A  thoroughbred  scholar,  the  professor  can  be  found 
among  his  .students  and  his  books  the  whole  year  round. 

In  1888  Mr.  G.  Vos,  Ph.  D.,  was  called  to  the  professor- 
ship. He  accepted,  and  fulfilled  his  duties  with  marked 
success  for  five  years,  when  a  repeated  call  from  Princeton 
Seminar)-  led  liiui  to  the  chair  of  biblical  theology  in  that 
institution  as  Prof.  G  Vos,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D.  Cradled  in  our 
Church,  wc  are  justh'  proud  of  him,  even  though  the  il- 
lustrious doctor  pitched  his  tent  elsewhere.  As  aCalvinist, 
scholar,  thinker,  writer,  lie  is  known  to  be  second  to  none. 
We  hope  and  trust  that  the  Church  of  Christ  at   large  ma)' 


~  43  — 
he  benefited  by  his  leaving  the  limited  sphere  of  our  denomi- 
national existence. 

In  1894  the  Rev,  H.  Beuker,  of  Muskegon,  who  the 
previous  year  had  come  from  tlie  Netherlands,  was  chosen 
to  occupy  the  chair  of  systematic  theology,  left  vacant  by 
the  departure  of  Dr.  Vos  since  1892.  Dr.  Beuker  is  a 
favorite  alike  with  the  .students  and  with  t!ie  people.  Like 
his  colleagues  past  sixty,  he  owes  his  popularity  to  his 
cheerful  disposition,  his  many-sided  experience,  and  his 
thoroughness  in  teaching. 

Messrs.  K.  Sclioolland  and  A.  Rooks,  able  men  of  letters, 
are  instructors  in  the  literary  department,  honoring  their 
profession  and  our  institution. 

There  are  in  all  46  .students;  20  in  the  theological  depart- 
ment, among  whom  is  Mr.  I.saac  Adams,  a  Persian,  and  26 
in  the  literary  department.  A  fine  Seminary  Hall  in  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  health}^  parts  of  the  Valley  City  was 
erected  in  1892  at  a  cost  of  about  $30,000.  Constructed 
in  the  latest  and  best  architectural  .style,  and  fully  answer- 
ing the  purpose,  it  stands  out  as  an  ornament  to  the  city 
and  a  monument  to  the  Chri.stian  Reformed  people,  who  al- 
ways prove  cheerful  givers  where  the  cause  of  Christ  and 
his  Church  is  concerned. 


The  cause  of  missions  always  filled  a  large  place  in  the 
hearts  of  our  people;  but  the  penury  of  colonial  conditions 
at  first,  the  financial  weakness  of  the  Church  for  .some  time 
afterwards,  and  the  littleness  of  the  amount  contributed  for 
such  a  grand  purpose  in  later  years,  made  people  scrupulous 
in  regard  to  any  private  enterprise  of  their  own  along  the 
line  of  missions.  On  that  account  contribtitions  were  for 
many  years  .sent  to  the  Chri.stian   Reformed   Church   in  the 


—  44  — 
Netherlands,  for  the  support  of  those  missions  in  the  East 
Indies,  mentioned  in  the  first  part  of  our  sketch. 

In  1 886  a  mission  of  our  own  was  planned.  The  Ameri- 
can Indian  was  made  the  sul)ject  of  much  discussion  in  the 
Synod  of  1888,  and,  the  majority  being  in  favor,  it  was 
decided  to  send  to  the  Indians  Rev.  T.  M.  Van  den  Bosch, 
who  had  some  experience  in  home  mission  work.  After 
due  ceremonials,  he  entered  in  1889  upon  his  labors  as  a 
missionary  among  the  heathen  of  our  country.  He  was 
not  long  in  the  field  however.  At  his  own  request  he  was 
recalled  in  1890,  on  account  of  failing  health.  Because  of  this 
ill-luck  at  first  effort,  which  could  hardly  be  called  an  earn- 
est effort,  in  1894  the  Synod,  not  being  unanimous  in  the 
course  to  be  taken  in  the  future,  entered  into  correspondence 
with  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  principally  with  an 
eye  to  mission  work,  but  with  the  thought  that,  perchance, 
after  closer  acquaintance  with  said  Church,  a  mutual  recog- 
nition as  Reformed  Presbyterian  Si.ster  Churches  might  be 
reached.  This  correspondence  is  still  going  on,  the  first 
step  in  the  direction  of  mutual  acknowledgement,  for  various 
rea.sons,  not  yet  having  been  taken  at  the  present  date. 
The  Christian  Reformed  Church  may  be  considered  cautious 
to  a  fault  in  the  matter  of  union,  but  sad  experience,  as 
shown  above,  has  taught  her  the  "'festina  lente.'' 

In  1896  a  candidate  of  theology,  who  had  .studied  with  a 
view  especially  to  mission  work  among  the  Red  Men, 
presented  himself  to  the  Synod  when  in  session,  at  the  time 
when  the  matter  of  mis.sion  was  brought  up.  He  declared 
his  intention  to  go  at  once,  if  the  Church  should  so  desire. 
This  made  the  Synod's  vote  as  to  the  field  not  only  easy, 
but  almost  obligatory,  the  Church,  eight  years  before, 
having  decided  that  point,  and  the  candidate  having  adapted 
his  studies  to  this  end  and  elected  his  "futura,"  who  had  a 


—  45  — 
warm  heart  for  the  Indians.  The  result  could  easily  be 
fcjresetn.  The  resolution  of  iS88  was  maintained  by  a 
large  majority.  So  the  labor  among  the  Indians  was 
resumed,  and  Arizona  chosen  as  the  field.  Four  months 
later  the  Rev.  H.  Fryling  was  ordained  and  sent  out  as  the 
first  missionary,  with  his  wife,  to  the  Navajoes  of  Arizona, 
a  tribe  which  numbers  from  20,000  to  30,000  people.  Mr. 
A.  Van  der  Wagen,  a  student  of  theology,  burning  with  love 
for  the  American  Indians,  with  his  wife,  an  able  teacher 
and  nurse,  were  added  to  the  missionary  as  assistants  and 
co-laborers.  In  less  than  half  a  year  Mrs.  H.  Frj'ling,  a 
sufferer  of  consumption,  died  cheerfully  at  her  post  at  the 
age  of  24.  rejoicing  to  breathe  her  last  amidst  the  tribe  she 
had  learned  to  love  and  which  loved  her.  In  1897  ^r.  J, 
K.  De  Groot,  a  teacher,  was  sent  to  assist  the  Rev.  Fr^iing 
in  his  loneliness  and  manifold  labors.  The  committee  on 
Missions  among  the  Heathen  was  obliged  thus  to  strengthen 
the  arms  of  Mr.  Fryling,  as,  at  the  urgent  request  of 
another  contiguous  tribe,  the  New  Mexico  Zuui's,  Mr.  Van 
der  Wagen  and  his  wife  had  been  ordered  thither. 

They  all  are  efficient  and  successful  workers,  doing  ex- 
cellent work,  regularly  teaching  the  Indian  children  in  the 
government  boarding  schools  or  at  the  missionary's  home; 
preaching  at  stated  times  to  government  officials  and  the 
grown  up  Indian  people;  learning  the  languages  of  said 
tribes  and  composing  dictionaries  for  themselves  and  future 
mi.ssionaries.  These  Indian  people  arc  not,  as  is  the 
common  notion,  decreasing,  but  increasing  in  numbers,  and 
they  are  peerless  lovers  of  their  native  land.  God  bless  our 
mission! 

The  Jewish  missions  in  Chicago  and  New  York  are 
supported  by  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  with  an 
average  uonation  of  $800  per  year. 


-46  — 
Besides    Dorcas,    Tryphena,    and  Tryphosa   and   kindred 
circles  of  women,  laboring  in   the  Lord,  the  Church  has  its 
Young  Men's  and  Young  Daughter's  Christian   Societies  in 
ahiiost  every  congregation. 

There  is  established  also  in  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  an 
Aged  People's  Home,  called  Holland  Home,  where  at  a 
moderate  price  old  people  of  the  Reformed  denominatioi; 
are  cared  for  materially  and  spiritually. 

A  sanitarium  for  consumptives,  Bethesda,  is  being  built 
at  Maxwell  City,  New  Mexico,  at  the  initiative  of  Prof. 
Beuker,  who  for  years  in  the  Netherlands  has  been  working 
along  philanthropic  lines.  Pie  is  meeting  with  the  hearty 
approval  and  efficient  co  operation  of  many  in  the  Church 
and  outside,  who  on  the  altar  of  love  and  sympathy  will- 
ingly lay  their  offerings  to  assuage  or  heal  the  miseries  of 
suffering  humanity.  At  Maxwell  there  is  a  little  Christian 
Reformed  congregation.  The  pastor,  the  Rev.  I.  Van 
Dellen,  ministers  to  the  wants  of  his  church  members,  who 
for  the  most  part  are  patients,  as  is,  or  v.-as,  his  own  wife. 
He  is,  by  common  consent,  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place. 

The  only  Holland  Christian  Reformed  Church  organ  is 
''De  Wachter,''  or,  in  English,  ''The  Watchman,'"  a  weekly 
of  some  thirty  years'  standing,  with  an  able  editor-in-chief , 
the  Rev.  A.  Keizer  of  Graafschap,  Mich.,  and  three  assist- 
ant  editors.     Its  circulation  is  2,350. 

The  English-speaking  classis  of  our  church,  Hackensack, 
N.  J.,  furnishes  a  monthly,  ""The  Banner  of  Truth,''  the 
Rev.  J.  C.  Voorhis  of  Hackensack,  being  editor.  It  firmly 
upholds  the  doctrine  and  polity  of  the  early  Dutch  Reformed 
Church.  Its  circulation  is  in  no  wise  limited  to  New  York 
or  New  Jersey,  a  good  many  of  our  people  reading  and 
understanding  both  the  Holland  and  English  languages. 


—  47  -- 

The  '^Gcrcformecrde  Avierikaaiiy  the  ^'Reformed  Amen- 
can,'"  is  a  Holland  monthly  of  recent  birth,  having  just 
entered  the  second  3'ear  of  its  orthodo:;^  existence.  It  is 
intended  for  the  more  religiousl}'  developed  among  the 
people  and  bids  fair  to  become  a  power  for  good  in  advocat- 
ing and  advancing  the  "strictl}-  reformed"  principles  and 
practices  in  ecclesiastical  and  social  life.  The  Rev.  F.  M. 
Ten  Hoor,  Prof.  H.  Beuker,  D.  D.  and  the  Rev.  H.  Van 
Hoogen  are  the  editors,  with  a  great  corps  of  assistants. 
Circulation  350. 

For  the  sake  of  completeness  and  for  those  who  do  not 
know  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of  America  in  regard 
to  its  polity,  we  note  the  following: 

The  government  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  is 
Presbyterian,  only  a  different  nomenclature  is  used  in  some 
respects  in  speaking  of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  consistory, 
or  session,  is  composed  of  the  minister,  ruling  elders  and 
deacons.  They  meet  at  stated  times  as  a  spiritual  court  to 
transact  spiritual  concerns,  such  as  the  admission  of  mem- 
bers and  the  exercise  of  discipline.  The  ruling  elders, 
instead  of  being  elected  for  life,  as  with  the  Presbyterians  of 
other  denominations,  are  appointed  for  two  years.  If 
acceptable  to  the  church,  they  may  be  appointed  again  for 
another  term  or  terms,  or  after  having  been  out  of  office 
for  one  year  at  least.  The  deacons  are  charged  with  the 
care  for  the  poor.  They  are  elected  the  same  way  as  the 
elders. 

The  next  court  is  the  classis,  or  presbytery,  which  is  a 
representative  body;  all  the  congregations  being  represented 
there  by  one  minister  and  one  elder,  or  two  elders  for  vacant 
congregations. 

The  highest  coiirt,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  is  the 
Synod  or  General  Assembly,   constituted   until  some  years 


—  48- 

ago  in  the  same  way  as  the,  classes;  but  since  the  number 
of  congregations  has  considerablj^  increased,  since  the 
distance  from  Grand  Rapids  (where  in  the  Seminary  Hall 
its  sessions  are  held)  for  many  a  delegate  amounts  to 
hundreds  of  miles,  and  the  expenses  became  rather  burden- 
some, the  representation,  by  resolution  of  the  late  Synod, 
has  been  reduced  to  three  ministers  and  three  elders  from 
each  classis,  which  will  make  the  total  of  delegates  48  for 
the  future,  unless  a  new  classis  be  formed.  The  Synod's 
sessions  are  held  every  other  year,  and  its  affairs  conducted 
much  in  the  same  method  with  all  other  Presbyterian 
Churches. 


Such  is  the  history  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  of 
America.  The  Lord  has  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof 
we  are  glad.     To  Him  alone  be  the  glory! 

Our  Church  is,  as  may  be  seen  from  this  sketch,  in  a 
flourishing  condition  financially  and  spiritually,  the  influx 
from  the  Netherlands  and  Germany  furnishing  it  each  year 
with  fresh  supplies  of  godly  men  and  women.  Besides 
these,  we  have  as  a  source  of  increase  the  rising  generations 
from  our  own  households. 

Many  are  the  blessings  we  enjoy  in  this  good  land  of 
ours,  inducing  us  to  unbounded  thankfulness,  which 
however  is  too  often  withheld  from  the  Father  of  lights. 

Many  are  the  duties  devolving  upon  us  as  a  body  of 
Reformed  Christians,  who  have  been  so  signally  blessed  and 
protected  by  the  hand  of  Divine  Providence. 

Many  are  the  possibilities  before  us,  which  should  cause 
us  continually  to  offer  t lie  fir.st  disciples'  prayer:  "Lord, 
increase  our  faith  "  Oh,  for  more  love  to  Christ  and  the 
everlasting  gospel,  for  more  compassion  for  dying  men,  for 
more  consecrated  lives  in  the  service  of  our  God! 


-     49  — 

The  dangers  surrounding  our  Church  are  not  to  be 
slighted:  the  hist  of  the  flesh  and  the  lust  of  the  eye  and 
the  pride  of  life  besides  the  hosts  of  the  power  of  darkness 
standing  in  battle-array  against  the  Lord  and  his  Anointed, 
and  against  his  saints  on  earth. 

If  we  continue  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  though  we  be 
small,  3'et  we  may  be  a  power  for  good  in  the  land  which 
the  Lord  our  God  has  given  us. 

May  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  regard  to  God's 
truth  be  ever  mindful  of  the  device  ot  the  Princes  of  Orange- 
Nassau:     "Je  Maintiendrai"  (I  shall  maintain). 

Our  merciful  God  and  Father  grant  us  grace  to  stand 
manfully  by  our  distinctive  principles,  never  faltering, 
never  failing,  firm  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints, 
faithful  unto  death,  tru.sting  in  God  alone,  Who  giveth  us 
the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

May  the  injunction  from  on  high:  '"Hold  that  fast  zvhich 
thon  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crozvn,''  spur  us  on  to  be 
steadfast,  immovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  knowing  that  our  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 
Then  ours  wall  be  in  endless  ages  the  fulfillment  of  that 
glorious  promi.se  of  our  Saviour   and  our   God:      "I   will 

GIVE  THEE  A  CROWN  OF  LIFE." 

Fremont,  Mich.,  March  1898. 


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